Peadar Tóibín
Question:236. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Education the steps her Department is taking to increase the number of Gaelscoileanna in the country; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31847/23]
View answerThursday, 29 June 2023
Questions (236)
Written answers
As part of the 20-Year Strategy for Irish 2010-2030, my Department is dedicated to creating opportunities to expand Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht.
This is proceeding in the context of the announcements in relation to the establishment of 47 new schools since 2019. The process to determine the patronage of these new schools pays particular attention to the establishment of Gaelscoileanna, Gaelcholáistí and Irish-medium Aonaid.
In order to plan for school provision and analyse the relevant demographic data, my Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and uses a Geographical Information System, using data from a range of sources, including Child Benefit and school enrolment data, to identify where the pressure for school places across the country will arise.
Where demographic data indicate that additional provision is required, the delivery of such additional provision is dependent on the particular circumstances of each case and may be provided through:
- Utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools,
- Extending the capacity of a school or schools,
- Provision of a new school or schools.
A patronage process is run after it has been decided, based on demographic analysis, that a new school is required. The patronage process is open to all patron bodies and prospective patrons. Parental preferences, as well as other considerations such as the extent of diversity of provision in an area (including Irish-medium provision), are key to the decision-making process.
Such analysis impacts on whether, at post-primary level, a school would take the form of an Irish-medium Gaelcholáiste, or whether, if English-medium, the school would include an Irish-medium unit. Where there is demand for an Irish-medium school, but not at the 600-1000 pupil level, a lower threshold of 400 students may apply to Gaelcholáistí. Alternatively, an Irish-medium unit (Aonad) may be established in an English-medium school.
In 2019, measures were announced to increase access to Irish-medium education as part of the patronage process for primary schools, including that five new primary schools being established from 2020 have been designated for Irish-medium education.
Outside of the patronage process for new schools, it is also possible for any post-primary school patron to contact my Department to explore the establishment of an Irish-medium unit in an existing post-primary school.
Work on the development of a new policy for Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht is now well underway in the Department. Included among the key objectives of the policy are developing a clear policy on the establishment and sustainability of Aonaid/Sruthanna (units/streams) in existing English-medium post-primary schools to strengthen Irish-medium education provision and exploring how opportunities for the establishment of Gaelscoileanna and Gaelcholáistí can be increased as part of the patronage process.
The research currently being done on aonaid and sruthanna as part of this work, as well as the outcome of a post-primary Irish-medium satellite school pilot in Dundalk, will also provide useful information on possible models of provision at post-primary level.
A small number of primary schools have transitioned to Irish-medium. Schools can contact my Department to explore transitioning from English-medium to Irish-medium. The work on the development of the policy on Irish-medium education outside of the Gaeltacht provides an opportunity to consider how these transitions might be supported.
The Government is committed to supporting Irish-medium schools and has delivered 80 capital building projects for Irish-medium schools since 2000 and over 100 additional building projects are currently in the pipeline in respect of Irish-medium schools.